Washington has been sent a blunt new year’s message from Beijing that America no longer has a monopoly on weapons in space, and must choose between negotiating a treaty with the rising Asian power and facing the prospect of a dangerous arms race against a new rival.

For decades America has been dominant in every aspect of space technology, particularly in what President Reagan liked to call “Star Wars”, the development of weapons systems capable of destroying satellites and even intercepting and knocking out ballistic missiles before they reach their targets.

The development of such weapons has been one of the most controversial aspects of President Bush’s military build-up, which envisages one day being able to protect America and its allies from the growing threat of missile attack from rogue nuclear states such as North Korea and possibly Iran.

Last year the Bush Administration made clear with the publication of its National Space Policy that it reserved the right to continue developing this technology in the face of opposition, particularly from the Chinese.

On January 11 the Chinese destroyed an object at roughly the same distance in space that many US spy satellites orbit. So far Beijing has not said what it hopes to achieve from its dramatic missile test in space. However, experts believe that it will now press home its demands that America sit down at the negotiating table and agree to limit the use of weapons in space and future tests.

If not, the Chinese clearly have the resources to develop the technology, and it is likely that Russia and even Europe could feel compelled to join the race. The tests could have a very damaging impact on commercial satellites, since the destruction of just one orbiter can scatter damaging debris in space for decades.

As President Bush ponders his next move in Iraq, the Gulf and the Middle East, the Chinese have presented him with an unexpected and unwelcome new problem.

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